A health workforce with the right competencies and support is vital to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, has access to the quality care they need. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that social factors and other structural determinants of health inequities profoundly affect people’s access to healthcare and the delivery and outcomes of care. We also learned that trust in health professionals and institutions influences health-seeking behaviors. Deep-rooted bias based on race, gender, ethnicity, and other causes of marginalization also reduces access and quality and equity of care.
There isn’t a global consensus on social determinants of health-related competencies (SDoH) or an agreement on the best approaches. To bridge that gap, as a collaborator in the Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) THEnet co-produced a brief on the topic.
The brief explains why SDoH-related competencies are essential. Building on a previous literature review and surveys in 12 countries, we identified 25 critical competencies for clinicians through a Delphi process with experts and representatives of marginalized communities from around the world. We also found that academic institutions committed to Social Accountability integrated the development of SDoH-related competencies throughout the curriculum. We also developed a case study from our member school Patan Academy of Health Sciences in Nepal.
